Richard Neutra: Masters Of World Architecture Series

By Esther McCoy

Discover the visionary work and enduring legacy of one of modern architecture's most influential figures in Esther McCoy's "Richard Neutra: Masters Of World Architecture Series." This meticulously researched and richly illustrated book offers an in-depth exploration of Richard Neutra's life, philosophy, and groundbreaking contributions to 20th-century architecture.

Esther McCoy, a renowned architectural historian and critic, provides a comprehensive account of Neutra's career, from his early years in Vienna to his pivotal role in shaping the architectural landscape of Southern California and beyond. Through engaging narrative and detailed analysis, McCoy highlights Neutra's innovative approach to design, characterized by his commitment to integrating nature, technology, and human needs.

The book delves into Neutra's most iconic projects, including the Lovell Health House, the Kaufmann Desert House, and the Case Study Houses, showcasing his mastery of form, function, and environmental harmony. McCoy examines how Neutra's work responded to the challenges of modern living, emphasizing his use of open plans, extensive glazing, and seamless indoor-outdoor transitions to create spaces that promote health and well-being.

Rich with photographs, sketches, and architectural drawings, "Richard Neutra: Masters Of World Architecture Series" provides readers with a visual feast and a deeper understanding of Neutra's design principles and aesthetic vision. McCoy also explores Neutra's collaborations with other prominent architects and his influence on subsequent generations of designers.

This book is an essential read for students of architecture, practicing architects, and anyone interested in the evolution of modern design. Esther McCoy's authoritative and engaging writing brings Neutra's work to life, offering readers a comprehensive and inspiring portrait of a true master of world architecture.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Porirua Publishing
• Release date: Jun 28, 2024
• ISBN: 9781991312563

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Publisher’s Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1

INTRODUCTION 3

SCHOOLS 14

CITY AND COMMUNITY PLANNING 17

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BOOKS AND ARTICLES WRITTEN BY RICHARD NEUTRA 21

BOOKS 21

ARTICLES 21

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ON RICHARD NEUTRA 23

BOOKS 23

ARTICLES 23

SOURCES OF ILLUSTRATIONS 24

TRAVEL SKETCHES THROUGH LIFE 105

SELECTED CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF BUILDINGS AND PROJECTS 110

CHRONOLOGY 114

RICHARD NEUTRA

By

Esther McCoy

INTRODUCTION

RICHARD NEUTRA took up his career in architecture at a critical moment in the history of the modern movement. It was the place of his generation, he said, to make true the promise of the grand revolution.{1} In the seventy years prior to 1920—when his apprenticeship was well begun—the Iron Age had learned to span great spaces and had dabbled in prefabricated structural parts; the steel skeleton had replaced masonry in the Chicago of the eighties; reinforced concrete had been perfected as a self-supporting slab. Plate glass had ushered in transparency. The art of Japan, washing like a tidal wave over Europe and the United States, left in its wake an appreciation for lightness, elegance and a modular rhythm. Laws of physics were exploited to liberate structures from the earth: the old static equilibrium was replaced by a dynamic one.

The difference between Neutra’s generation and the previous one was summed up by Eric Mendelsohn: The Old gradually unclothes itself to nakedness, while the New is born naked.{2} Of the three men whose work meant a great deal to Neutra, two were born to the new style—Frank Lloyd Wright and Adolf Loos; while Otto Wagner, founder of modern architecture in Vienna, began in 1894 to strip away the plastic veils of the Renaissance. The First World War administered the coup de grâce to the handcraft movement, and the machine, no longer an evil spirit to be exorcised, was at the base of the new architecture. Neutra was one of the small group who accepted the discipline of the machine without coming under its tyranny. He saw the machine as an instrument that could create oases in the desert of mis-made cities, houses relating to communities, and communities in the larger context of cities.

Although Neutra has designed for many countries and many climates, his architecture is an eternal search for the southland, cradle of civilization. Man loves to immigrate to the south, or to conquer it, he wrote. Like all Nordic barbarians we want to go to sunny Hellas, or to the land where the lemon blooms and no icy storms trouble us.{3}

Neutra is a modern classicist; his language, like that of the Periclean builders, is an artificial one, but both have used it to create harmony, and beauty. His design has evolved slowly, and he has seldom strayed far from his original concept of architecture; in his early projects are the seeds of his later work. His project for an ideal metropolis Rush city Reformed, into which he deposited his ideas on design and city planning, was a